Capital Caff: Fox Fur Coffee Offers Great Coffee for a Great Price

Don't talk to me until I've read Capital Caff: Your guide to the latest in coffee happenings around Beijing.

Just a short walk away from Dawang Lu Station lies this delightful little coffee shop. Back when I used to work in the area, this was a favorite spot of my colleague’s who introduced me to the place and told me that it has two great selling points: good quality coffee at a reasonable price.

My drink of choice, an Americano, comes in at the low, low price of RMB 18 and a latte is only RMB 24. Inside, the shop has a stripped down, minimalistic feel and the glass front let’s in lots of light giving it a bright, welcoming feel. 

They have a few unusual offerings here that you won’t find anywhere else such as an extensive alternative milk collection, which even includes macadamia nut milk (I didn’t even know that was a thing!) and home-grown organic tomatoes on sale. I was intrigued to know more about the place so reached out to owner Luka Sun to find out more.

When did you open Fox Fur Coffee?
The store opened its doors in the middle of November 2020, on an unseasonably warm day for winter. However, long before the actual store opened, Fox Fur was already in existence. We had done some online coffee talks through Bilibili and we have a WeChat group to share coffee related stuff.

Why did you decide to open Fox Fur Coffee?
Well…there is the long version and short version. The long version is that I lived in Brisbane, Australia for over a decade and ending up having several positions in the coffee sector. After several years working as a barista, store manager and coffee science development staff I thought it would be quite a challenge if I headed back to China and influence the Chinese coffee market.

I also thought that this would definitely be meaningful. I came back to China in 2018 and was working as a Product Manager at a beverage company (one of the top ones in China) and worked with products like RTD coffee and alcoholic drinks. But it just didn’t suit me, the working part was great and I met a lot of interesting people, but I didn’t like the whole “corporate” thing.

I wanted all my work and my crew’s work to be appreciated and meaningful and just...FUN, so, I quit. After that, one thing lead to another, and we built up the brand Fox Fur Coffee, had a wonderful and award-winning registered trademark and finally we opened the store.

The short answer is, working in coffee is my career for life, so I decided to start by opening a store and thought it would be fun.

What makes Fox Fur Coffee different to other coffee shops in Beijing?
I believe almost all coffee stores in Beijing are different from one another to some extent, which is so exciting.  Fox Fur focuses on delivering high quality products (coffees and other drinks) with a reasonable price and a heartwarming service. And part of our roasted coffee beans, alternative milk and other accessories are directly imported from Australia. We use many ingredients and business ideas from Australia, the main purpose is to deliver interesting and worthy customer experiences.

Oh, and we have organic tomatoes available to buy and people are just crazy about their interesting appearance, delightful flavor and great mouthfeel. We are also pet-friendly, I know many people love their pets and only a few places in Beijing allow them, well, Fox Fur is one such place!

What are some of the key concepts behind Fox Fur Coffee?
Firstly, the name Fox Fur expresses a sense of vitality and energy because both the fur on a red fox and a freshly poured espresso have a golden, charming color and texture. It's as if they are “alive”. This is the foundation of both the business and my personal lifestyle. At Fox Fur, we believe the environment matters, sustainability matters and people’s rights and happiness matter. Also, foxes are actually very smart and beautiful creatures, I want to be smart and beautiful one day!

What team do you have helping you run Fox Fur Coffee?
At this moment, we have my lovely girlfriend Molly who is supervising the store. Han is a friend of ours and a very cool big sister. And Junjun, who’s very, very good at design, photography and magazine editing. She'll be heading to New Zealand soon. We also have a very charming and cute helper named You, who’s a female basketball player.

But, to me, it’s really that everyone is helping me with the store, our regular customers, friends, customers-who-become-friends and new/potential customers, really, I mean it. That’s what I wanted in the first place, at Fox Fur coffee, we are all about community, we are doing team work, meanwhile, you can enjoy your coffee.

Do you have any plans to open any other branches in Beijing?
To be honest, yes, but I’m not in a rush. We plan to have stores on different blocks, in different cities and even different countries. But it must be done step by step, before making any final decisions we will run through a few questions like: what can we offer our customers there? Will they like it? What new fun things can we do there? Etc. or maybe if we just find the perfect spot or something then we’ll do it.

Fox Fur Coffee
103, Bldg 8, Wanda Plaza Plaza (CBD Store), 93 Jiangguo Lu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区建国路93号万达广场(CBD店)8号楼103室

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Images: Katie Coy